


Preface: How Erwin Smith became a working single father of four

by orphan_account



Series: Erwin Smith's very peculiar family [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Gen, Papa!Erwin, Private School AU, Punk!Levi, absolute nerd!Hange, adorable dork!Mike, and before i forget, because I know the French school system better, gender-neutral Nanaba, grunge!Nanaba, ice skating Levi, maybe I'll translate this to French, set in France
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-17
Updated: 2016-01-17
Packaged: 2018-05-14 13:26:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5745544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a prologue, kind of. What you need to know is that they're in France, Hange is a future doctor in at least seven different subjects, Mike will be an engineer by age 22, Nanaba is a kickass painter whom kids will study in art class and Levi is a future ice skating gold medalist. Well that's if Erwin isn't wrong and manages to get them into Trost Academy. These kids will also become the closest thing the lonely math teacher will ever have to a family. If he can get them into Trost.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Preface: How Erwin Smith became a working single father of four

**Author's Note:**

> Other few things you need to know: if France, middle school starts in 6ème (Sixième), as in 6 years before the last year of high school, and ends in 3ème. For Americans, from what I understood, 3ème (Troisième) is the equivalent of 9th grade, and correct me if I'm wrong but that's when they start high school. We only have three years of high school, starting with 2nde (Seconde). Trost Academy is a private lycée (high school), so they start in 2nde. Oh, and the grading system is on 20 points. That's all! Enjoy!

Most people would think Erwin Smith was a cold hearted bastard with absolutely no mercy for the ones in need. Probably because he was a competent but severe math teacher, giving students their exact grades and not changing the coefficients if the tests were a public fail. His policy in the classroom was clear: you disturb the class, out. You don't have your textbook or graphic calculator, out. You didn't do your homework, detention. You don't hand back the graded homework on time, detention with a 0. But Erwin only was a very serious teacher who had found out the hard way that if he wasn't so strict, kids would never pay attention to what he had to say. To his ass and his eyes, probably, but not to exponential functions and trigonometry. He often wondered if it had something to do with the students' wealth. He was a teacher in a very prestigious private high school, and if it followed the state's educational program the kids were far from following the norm, even if it was just for school clubs and activities.  
  
The Trost Academy had an intense program of cram school, sports clubs, art curses, all that to prepare the newest elite to high class universities, Grandes Écoles or other post school educational facilities. This school also had a "chance for the most talented" policy and allowed 15 students to join them in 10th grade with a scholarship and free supplies, if they showed a special talent in sports, arts, or school subject and passed the entrance exam after being picked by one of the teachers. This year, the end of April sounded like "road trip around France" for Erwin. He couldn't visit every single school, but he had a knack for knowing where to stop to find young talents. He had to stop fishing by the end of May to start preparing his recruits for their Brevet and the entrance exam, but it wasn't his first time. His recruits never failed, he trusted them to be so good at their speciality the problems they might have with other subjects would be forgotten, and most of the time, he was right.  
  
Erwin's first notable stop, the stop that would start changing his life for good, was in the North, near the Belgian border. As always, randomly dropping by a prefecture to look for little gems was a gamble. But this time, he had a particularly good feeling about this middle school. He strolled in the classrooms, talked to the teachers, watched the students work, checked their records. One of the 3ème caught his attention for good. His name was Mike Zacharias and according to his physics and technology teachers, this kid had to have motor oil in his veins to understand mechanic so well. Intrigued, Erwin found Mike during recess fixing a leaking pipe in the men's bathroom like a pro.  
  
"What the-" Erwin exclaimed when he saw a blond teenager lying under a sink with spanner in his working hand and a small flashlight between his teeth. The boy sat up too quickly and hit his head on the pipe.  
  
"Ow..." He groaned, putting his tool down.  
  
"What are you doing here?" The teacher asked, helping him up.  
  
"I'm fixing the sink." The boy shrugged, his shaggy blond hair almost ending up in his mouth.  
  
"No I saw that, what I'm asking is why are you doing it? Aren't they handymen to do it?"  
  
"They never do it right, this pipe has been leaking for the past year and I just had to do something about it."  
  
He had said it like it was the most normal thing in the world.  
  
"Can I go back to it?" He asked awkwardly after a few seconds.  
  
"Yes of course." Erwin answered. "Is this a regular occurrence?"  
  
"Yeah, this school's always breaking down and someone has to fix it. I like it though, I learn new techniques on the way."  
  
"What are you planning to do when you grow up? I'm just curious, you seemed to be very skilled with your hands."  
  
"A mechanic, probably."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Uh-huh, I like cars and it's always fun to find the thing that make a machine tick. Plus it's useful to people, so it's a win-win."  
  
Erwin thought for a moment, watching the kid work, and asked:  
  
"I am looking for Mike Zacharias, do you know him?"  
  
"That would be me." The teenager answered, sitting back up. "What can I help you with?"  
  
"My name is Erwin Smith, I'm a teacher from Trost Academy." He was stopped by Mike leaning towards him and sniffing his hair and nodding.  
  
"Sorry, that's a bad habit." Mike said sheepishly when he saw Erwin's astonished expression. "Please continue."  
  
"Hum. Yes. The academy sent me to fetch 3èmes with great potential or a special talent. I stumbled over your file when visiting the region, and I am very impressed with your work right there."  
  
"Wait, you think I'm good enough to get a scholarship?" Mike's eyes started shining with hope and maybe a little bit of pride.  
  
"According to your technology teacher you are." Erwin nodded. "He talked about robotic pieces? I don't know much about this but he seemed very proud of you."  
  
The teenager turned red.  
  
"It's not that great... It's just metal put together..."  
  
"Would you mind showing me this afternoon?"  
  
"After school?"  
  
Erwin nodded and Mike tried very hard to repress an excited grin. He failed and the teacher left him with a nod.  
  
Later, Erwin came to pick Mike up in his red vintage Camaro. They drove in silence for approximately 2 minutes before Mike started chatting about anything and everything. Erwin was pretty sure this could have been qualified as small talk, but he was somehow comfortable enough to speak freely with him and didn't get bored. Mike would be a pleasure to have in a classroom. They stopped in front of a little house that looked cut out of a Disney movie with the little begonias and geraniums on the windows, the roof in traditional red tiles and the little garden.  
  
"Mom! I'm home! I brought a guest!" Mike called when they entered. The house smelled meat and potatoes and suddenly Erwin realized he had forgotten to eat at lunch period.  
  
"I'm in the kitchen!" A woman answered.  
  
The teacher followed the student in the kitchen filled with light. A middle aged woman, wearing an apron and kitchen mitts, was just pulling a huge chiken out of the oven.  
  
"Hello!" She said with a bright smile. "I'm Carine, Mike's mother."  
  
"My name is Erwin Smith, I'm a teacher at Trost Academy. I would like to speak with you about Mike's possible scholarship."  
  
"Ah yes, we received an e-mail from the school about it." Carine nodded. "Will you stay for dinner, M. Smith?"  
  
"Um..." Something told him to accept the offer and to accept it quickly. "I haven't eaten yet, it would be an honor to join you."  
  
"Perfect! We can talk then. Michou sweetie, go show M. Smith your toys."  
  
Mike bit back a "they're not toys mom" and led Erwin to the storage room.  
  
"Good call on accepting her invitation back there." He commented.  
  
"I had a feeling she wouldn't have let me hear the end of it if I hadn't." Erwin confessed.  
  
"You're right on that one." Mike chuckled. "Okay, here they are."  
  
He pulled out a box full of small robotic animals, some of them with the gears still visible. The teenager took what looked like an stainless steel German Shepard and pushed a button. To Erwin's astonishment and admiration, the little dog started walking around the table and barking.  
  
"You did this by yourself?" He asked, putting his hand as an obstacle to see if the toy would stop against it.  
  
"Yeah, but it's not that sophisticated." Mike shrugged. The dog bumped against Erwin's palm and changed direction.  
  
"Are you kidding me? This is extraordinary!" The teacher marveled. "If your parents agree I am taking you back to the academy right now!"  
  
Mike laughed, and they got back to the kitchen quickly.  
  
"I was just about to call you!" Mme Zacharias mused.  
  
"Madam, your son has real talent!" Erwin announced before he was even sat down. "He could become a automobile engineer in no time, believe me!"  
  
"Ha, I told you! He never listens to me when I tell him he's talented."  
  
"Mom..."  
  
"Sush, let the adults who know how much you worth talk about your education!"  
  
To say Mme Zacharias was excited would be an euphemism. She asked a lot of questions, tilted her head from time to time, nodded, took notes and finally gave her judgment by dessert:  
  
"I would be delighted if Mike joined your school, M. Smith. He is very capable with exams too, and his school work is good, I don't worry much about this side of the thing. But I have a question: Trost Academy is very far from here, right?"  
  
"It is." Erwin nodded. "Is this a problem?"  
  
"I can't leave this town, and I don't know anyone in the region, I can't possibly send my only son there without knowing where he will sleep!"  
  
"Don't worry about this." The teacher said with a compassionate smile. "The scholarship comes with a temporary foster home for the students, usually the teachers volunteer."  
  
"Did you volunteer, M. Smith?" Mike asked.  
  
"I did."  
  
"It's settled, then!" Carine sighed happily. "You take him in, and every time you go near Belgium you will have a free bedroom and food."  
  
"You don't know me, how can you trust me with your child like this?"  
  
"Did you smell him, Mike?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And you're here, that means I can trust you. Anything else?"  
  
"I- yes, the paperwork." Erwin quickly took composure and pulled out an orange envelope from his attaché-case. "I will come back in a week to take Mike, but I will need you to mail this to me as soon as possible. Here are my e-mail and physical addresses."  
  
"Very well. It was a pleasure doing business with you, M. Smith."  
  
They shook hands, Mike said his goodbyes and Erwin left feeling like he had won the jackpot. Carine sent the files through the Internet the very next day and Erwin obtained the academy's approval almost immediately. Not that it meant much, Erwin could recommend a frog if he wanted to and the academy would approve.

**Author's Note:**

> Erwin would definitely drive a Camaro you can't tell me otherwise. I feel like Mike is kind of OOC. I'm tempted to say it's because he didn't grow his mustache yet, he's only 14. Thanks for reading!


End file.
